A New Adventure at the LTO in order to Re Register My Car!

And it came to pass, once again that February is the month when my Starex Van is required to get the new registration it requires in order to be legal for the next 12 months! It has always been a very easy process as I have an helper but a while ago on a routine traffic stop the officer who inspected my documents noticed that the color on the registration was silver while the color actually is a silver upper and dark grey bottom as it has been ever since I got the car! He did not give me any problem but said I should get an affidavit of color change before my new registration so thats what I decided to do as its only a affidavit!

Me and the wife went to an Attorney and got the affidavit without problem then went to the LTO to do the process. We were told that first I would have to go the the Police Barracks and have them verify the color change so off we go to the barracks Traffic Enforcement Division for verification but once there we were told to report to the Crime Lab for verification! No big deal so we went to the Crime Lab but they told us that we had to go first to the Highway Patrol before they could do what they had to do!

We went along to the Highway Patrol where they did some checking, gave us an invoice and told us to go and pay at the Land Bank back in the City. At this point I am starting to growl a bit but off we went to the Land Bank to pay! My dear is good doing such stuff as she plays the Senior Citizen card and cuts the line and pays quickly!

Once paid, we went back to the Highway Patrol they gave us some papers and told us we were told to go back to the Crime Lab so they could do their thing first! When we got to the Crime Lab I was lucky as another vehicle was just leaving so I got a parking spot directly in front of the door! We handed in the papers and one guy came out and told me to open the hood so he could check the engine and chassis numbers so thats what I did. When I opened the hood he asked me if I had a cloth so he could clean the areas where the numbers were so I gave him a cloth! Then he asked if I had a flash light so he could see the numbers better! Wow, this Crime Lab was not like the CSI you see on TV! Once he found the numbers he had to stencil them onto scotch tape, he only had one inch size tape so he had to stick three strips together so he could get the width he needed in order to lift the numbers! Now he was finished so he gave us more papers and told us to return to the Highway Patrol Department!

Back at the Highway Patrol, they had to lift the numbers again and once finished we got a bunch of papers, one stated that the vehicle was not stolen! During the whole process there was no mention of the color which was the main reason for the days adventure!

Back we went to the LTO where one of our relations works so he took us to the Smoke Belching place in order to get the emissions check then he went back and he sorted out the requirements for the new registration!

Once all was finished the new documents were delivered to our house, the papers were all there but no Window Sticker available yet but once again my Starex is road legal!

Not only did we get the new registration for the car but I also got my new driving licence which I applied for in August!

I think that one day these tests of patience can be streamlined to make it a bit easier but I am not holding my breath for that day to come!

Chris Dearne, aka "GenSan Chris" is a long term resident of the Philippines. Chris has been living in General Santos City since 1992! Chris owned a hotel in General Santos called Cambridge Farm Hotel, and now also Agatha's Dive Center, formerly Tuna City Scuba Center. Chris' interests include Scuba Diving, Instructing, and Formula 1 Racing.

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About GenSan Chris

Chris Dearne, aka "GenSan Chris" is a long term resident of the Philippines. Chris has been living in General Santos City since 1992! Chris owned a hotel in General Santos called Cambridge Farm Hotel, and now also Agatha's Dive Center, formerly Tuna City Scuba Center. Chris' interests include Scuba Diving, Instructing, and Formula 1 Racing.

I just don’t have that kind of patience. Hell I was pulling out my hair just reading that! Ormoc City, it isn’t a place to drive a car. The streets are filled with trikes. And it can get some cluster-freak traffic at times.

Chris;
Years ago I was involved in the Affidavit of color change, but before I went to the lawyer I went to the LTO and told my friend that I didn’t think the color was right. He checked the color code on the VIN against the computer and they matched. My friend at the LTO asked my wife if I was color blind. I guess I wasn’t but the LTO Traffic Enforcer along the road might have been…
I’m still waiting on my July 2016 driver License to fall from the sky, but I have my receipt!